Gone Though not Forgotten
by Javelin the Silent One
Summary: Ninian...I love you. I never want to see you sad." As evil against those who hunt dragons brews two years later, can Ninian and a few others find the courage to save the one she loves? (EliwoodNinian)
1. Prologe: From Tears to Ice

Disky: ……

Eliwood: Saaay it…….

GF: But I don' wanna!!!! ;o;

Hector: pulls out Wolf Beil

GF: AAAADONTOWNFIREEMBLEMTHEREISAIDIT!!!!!!!! screams and runs away from evil nassssty Wolf Beil

Eliwood: ………..

GF: pops up out of bottom of screen BUT!!! I do own Bethany (tactician), Amlekaraku Rielakuna, and Ithilia. I also donna own Aisha of the Dark, based off of my bestest-best friend Aisha with Issues. READ HER YGO STORIES!!!!!!!

Summary: "Ninian…I love you. I never want to make you sad." Now, after two years of separation, evil

brews once again in those who hunt dragons; and when the group is called together after years of bitter separation, will a single binding point help bring the broken hearts back together? And…will a promise and oath made years ago still shine in the eyes and memory of her beloved?

Genre: Angst, Drama. Ummm…wooden fence!!!

Rating: Prolly PG-13. Bein safe.

Notes/Warnings: Some mild violence, language, and suggestive comments ahead. Nothin' too bad, but…sometimes folks can seem really puritanical (coughparentscough). So if you're one of these people…high-tail out of here. Flamers shall be prosecuted by Evanflaed. Oh, the name of the tactician is Bethany.

Fire Emblem Fellowship cowers

**__**

Gone Though not Forgotten

By Graymalkin "Obey Evanflaed!!" Firstwitch

Prologue: From Tears to Ice

__

This was all my fault….

"My…my Lord Eliwood…I'm…relieved…you're not hurt…."

"N-Ninian…." One tear, then two, on the pale skin of the dragon, or what was a dragon but now took the guise of a harmless girl, a dancer. Bethany watched in shock. Why did she consent…why did she not hold him back….

She had prodded them, poked…and evoked a passion within the two she had been proud of. For once, her strategy had played more a part than her luck; her keen sense of pairings more an ally than her dimwitted studies on war.

And now…now she was proven wrong.

"This land…..pro…te…………………………….."

"Nini…Ninian!! Speak to me, Ninian!!! Please!!!"

__

I should have known.

"NINIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!" Eliwood's agonized howl cut through the air, echoed of the sandstone walls, and reverted into a foreboding and quiet silence, broken only by Lyndis' agonized sobs, and the painful beating of Eliwood's heart…..

"….She is dead, Eliwood!!! And it was not by my hand, but yours that she met her fateful demise!!!!"

Bethany had to cover her ears as Nergal's wretched laughing sliced through the air, right into her very heart. And it said the same thing over, this is your fault, Bethany of Arcadia, all your fault….

All your fault….

__

All the signs were right in front of me….

Eliwood's eyes bored right into Nergal's, with what Bethany could see only as hatred, and contempt, and utter acidity towards the one he had fought from the beginning. And Nergal just smiled.

"Painful, isn't it? But my dear lord, why the long face?

"I know a way to spare her from death…."

Bethany uncovered her ears, staring at him with a look of repulsion and amazement. "B-but—"

"Quiet!!!"

The command was so sternly given, so cruelly delivered, that the other lords could only stare at its deliverer.

But the command had not been given by Nergal…but Eliwood….

__

But I couldn't understand them, as usual.

"Speak, Nergal." Eliwood had set Ninian gently on the ground, his eyes were icy as he looked at the lord of Darkness. But they were not tearful, nor contemptuous. They were merely listening. "Speak, and if I do not like your answer I will cut you down where you stand right now."

A cruel-sounding chuckle echoed through the canyon, and the gray eye narrowed cunningly. "My, quite the slash-happy swordsman, aren't we, Eliwood?

"But I will make you a deal…I will return the girl to life, and I will give up hunting dragons and meddling in the affair of others—"

"Liar!!!!" Lyndis rushed forward, the Mani Katti in her hand.

SLAP!!!

Lyndis fell to the ground, clutching her cheek where Eliwood had smacked it. He looked commanding, though not angry.

Almost…cruel….

__

I should have known that that was not Eliwood…

"Name your price." Eliwood did not remove his penetrating glare from Lyn, who only looked up with infinite sadness. Behind her, Bethany could hear Hector straining against Matthew and Guy, trying to reach her….

Nergal smiled. "You come with me."

Eliwood stood there, no change or twitch evident in his face. It was cold, more like marble than Eliwood….

Bethany found her voice.

__

I should have had the courage to grab him away…

"E-Eliwood, n-no…you…can't…."

Eliwood took one look back at the group. There was sorrow in his eyes, and regret…an "I'm sorry," more felt than spoken.

But his eyes also betrayed something terrifying and unreadable as well.

"Restore her now…and you have a deal."

The wordless cry that echoed through the camp would haunt Bethany ever after.

__

But I didn't…and now we're all paying for it….

Nergal smirked at Athos, whose mouth was open in wordless surprise. "Of course," he said. "Any thing for you, my Lord Eliwood…."

He raised a hand above Ninian, murmuring a spell under his breath, in a language that Bethany could not understand but immediately recognized, the words chilling her blood and playing across her mind….

The words of Aisha of the Dark, famed Necromancer of Arcadia.

Nonetheless, the arcane mutterings had their effect; blood rushed to Ninian's soft lips, color in the pale cheeks, and soft breathing.

Eliwood knelt, taking her pulse as the group waited with bated breath. Surely it was an illusion…there was no pulse, she was dead and that was that and they could kill Nergal now….

"She's alive…." Relieved tears sprang from Eliwood's eyes.

__

Couldn't Eliwood see what Nergal was doing?!?!

A bony hand rested on Eliwood's shoulder. "The life of the girl you loved for yours…."

"…Yes." Eliwood bent his head, took one last drink of Ninian's lips…ones he might never kiss again….

"NO!!!!" Bethany ran forward, blood flowing into her legs. But the mind, they say, works much faster than the body can process.

"Ah, yes…a little "parting gift" for your friends…."

Nergal's hand lifted; a ball of dark energy formed in it, and with a few cryptically spoken words, the ball hit Bethany and she was reeling back in the aftermath of the blast….

__

No…he was blinded by the love he had for Ninian…the love which I encouraged…a forbidden love.

She heard Lyn's scream, and Nergal's high-pitched crazed laugh. Hector was rushing forward to protect Lyn….

And then she hit her head, and all was lost in the darkness.

__

This is all my fault…..

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; (=======Hey, lookit, Aisha!!! The partition-thingy!!!!)

"Kent!! You're back!!" Lyn rushed forward, slowing and stopping at the agonized look on Kent's face.

"….I…I'm sorry, Milady Lyndis…."

Bethany stayed riveted on the flames, her short boyish mop of golden hair gleaming gold and red and yellow in it's cleansing light. Her eyes were red, swollen, her mind blank. She could cry no more, the tears would not come but the words did….

"It's okay, Kent…we'll wait for Florina…"

A snort from Hector. "This is RIDICULOUS!!" he roared, standing and throwing his hands up. "Eliwood's missing and what do you send out? A useless cavalier and a crybaby pegasus knight!!!"

"I'd like to see you do better, Hector." Lyn's tone was dangerous, like the edge of the Mani Katti she wielded.

"Touched a nerve, have I? Or can you not stand the truth that your ragtag forces of Caelin are nothing more than a playboy, a pretty face, a coward, and a general who can't even walk in a straight line!?!?" Hector's voice began to rise. Others began to come out, curious at the commotion.

"We work together, Hector of Ostia!!" She sneered, a thought coming to her. "And at least the only family I have cares about me."

"Take that back……."

"Stop it!!" Priscilla tried to play the useless roll of peacemaker, looking from one lord to the other. "Stop—"

She was silenced by an all-around glare.

"I must side with Caelin on this…."

"How could you?!?!!?"

"Hector has a point…."

"Maybe Lyn's right….."

And soon the entire encampment was arguing around Bethany, useless yelling and shouting. Not one was directed her way.

And somehow…somehow, to the young tactician, that was the worst insult.

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

The next day, Caelin and Ostia broke camp and went heatedly their separate ways, their tempers fuming. Word would spread around the provinces like wildfire, and skirmishes that neither side wished to quell fueled up and grew worse.

Neither, at the time, saw that it was not the fault of the others that led to the disentegration of trust.

Rather, it was their inablity to forgive themselves….

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

"…And that's the story, Milady." Nils bowed his head both in reverence and sympathy to the mother of the one who had saved his sister, despite their cryptic ways. "I…know not what has happened to him."

Lady Pharae fought back tears, trying to smile. "It was…a noble cause," she said, her voice beginning to waver. "And you…and your sister…you've nowhere to go?"

Before Nils could answer, the Lady grabbed him and pulled him to her chest, sobbing. "M-my son…." She stuttered and gasped. "M-m-my ch-children…."

Nils looked sadly up through crimson eyes. "Mother…." He was not sure what else to say.

Away from the two, Ninian was separate, detached, alone. Her eyes glazed, she could only think and say the one word that consumed her heart and soul, now not in flesh but only in mind….

"Lord Eliwood….Lord Eliwood…Lord Eliwood…."

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

And Bethany took to the road alone, her green eyes dull, where there had once been a sparkle. Everyday she had to hide as some familiar face passed her way…every day she prayed to Elimine that this agony would cease and she could live in peace. But her conscious was not so merciful, and every night she cried as her dreams were filled with a characteristic cruel laughter…and the sharp, echoing cry of a lover gone….

Ninian's cry….

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Please R&R!!!!!!


	2. Chapter 1: From Ashes to Abyss

Camera shows GR tying Eliwood up in a dandelion chain. Eliwood is struggling, obviously losing.

GF: Saaaay it…..

Eliwood: NEVER!!!!

GF: Oh Hectoooooor…..

Hector: draws Wolf Beil

Eliwood: hisses No…keep away the sharp nassssssty steeeelll……. hisses again like Gollum

GF & Hector: '';;

Eliwood: Fine. See the prologue.

GF: Cheater.

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

**__**

Gone Though not Forgotten

Chapter 1: From Ashes to Abyss

**__**

Three of Arcadia, warriors fair

One of a maiden with navy blue hair

Two to take refuge from lackey's den

To take on the journey to the World's End;

Two from the palaces of Pharae

One will go and one will stay

A noble fighter of Kyrren's Glen

To take on the journey to the World's end;

And one, for last, a tactician sure

With mind and heart as her hair is pure.

Nergal paced around his greatest creation…his miracle. "You've grown these past two years…." He nodded to Limstella, who placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. No more the shuddering, he remained entirely still.

An entity of earth and water, swathed in black save for two cold eyes. "One last time…who are you?"

"My name does not matter, nor does who I am," the boy said in a dead tone. "The one thing that matters is my Master's wish. Should it be questioned, I will slay the inquirer without hesitation."

Limstella nodded. He spoke the truth.

"Good, good…I trained you well. What is your past?"

"I have no past other than what my Master tells me. I was betrayed by those who called themselves my friends; that is all I need to know." Another nod from Limstella.

Neural was ecstatic. "What is your ambition?"

The boy's eyes narrowed. "I will aid the rising of the dragons," he murmured, his tone taking on a dangerous edge. "I will be the blade that cuts, that fights along Lady Limstella. And should anything cross my path, I will die for you, Master, without hesitation."

Limstella nodded. "He speaks the truth, at last," the morph said, looking at Nergal. "You did well with him, my lord."

"Not quite." He turned again to Eliwood, evoking the image of a girl. "What do you feel for this girl—"

He was silenced as a blade whipped past his face and into the wall, the metallic clang of metal on stone echoing through the halls of the Dragon's Keep. Nergal smiled cruelly.

"_Now_ he is ready…."

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

"Oookay…how about heads I win, tales you lose?"

Matthew waited with bated breath as Guy made the bet with the huge beserker who they had been dealing with. "Guy, this won't work, I'm telling you…" he muttered through gritted teeth.

"Relax, buddy. You'll see…."

"Guy, are you off your rock—"

The beserker grunted, shoving a huge pile of gold their direction. Matthew blinked. It had…worked?

Guy grinned. "Any other takers? No? Okay then…here we go!!!" Guy flipped the coin with his thumb, watching it twirl in the air, airborne for but a second…

Then it landed on the table, twirled a moment, and landed on the insignia of the Ostia household.

"Tails…I am so sorry, sir!!" Guy took on an exaggerated pout as he swiped the gold into a large sack on the floor. "Better luck next time, eh?"

Matthew stared in wonder as the beserker marched off, scratching his head in bemusement. "Guy, did you just…hustle him, or was that just me?"

"Want me to lie?"

"Please tell me you did not just hustle him…."

"Um, no, I didn't?"

"Oh god, Guy…." Matthew rubbed his temples. "Yer my friend and everything, Guy, but…damn, do you know how much trouble we'll be in if we're found out?"

Guy shook his head. "Matthew, Matthew…you're talking about a guy who's lived on the streets since he was six. I know how to hustle, who to do it to, and when to do it." He slung a carefree shoulder over his best friend's shoulder. "Who could possibly notice?"

A new cloaked figure took a seat in front of the couple. "The Lord Hector of Ostia is sitting in the corner, and has been watching your every move along with the healer and his bodyguard. He plans to arrest you as soon as you make to leave here."

Matthew blinked. That voice…it was unmistakable…. But no. It couldn't be her…she had been banished, received death threats from Hector if she ever showed her face….

"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously, leaning over the table. And he caught a glimpse of green-blue eyes and knew…knew she had come back…

"Oh, god…."

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

Oswin was a knight of Ostia's high guard; he was used to giving unquestioning, unwavering loyalty to his lords and those higher up than him. Even more crucial than that, he felt, was the bond between the guard and the guarded, the friendship that he and his Lord Hector shared. Hector treated him with respect, had given him refuge. As a result, Oswin treated him with respect, never questioning his sometimes impulsive master.

But even the extremes he suggested for Guy and Matthew were puzzling to him.

"A-arrest them? B-but Milord…." He leaned forward across the table, as though trying to get a better look at the Lord he thought he knew so well.

Hector stared back at them. "Arrest them," he said, his voice a little shaky with beer but still determined. "Then drag them off to the cells to await judgement."

"This isn't fair, Milord!!!!" shouted a younger, more enthusiastic voice as Serra stood, glaring at the Ostian noble with defiance. "They're only trying to make some money for your coffers!! I overheard them saying tha—"

Hector glared at her venemously. Serra froze, looking terrified, than sank meekly back into her seat. "A…as you wish, Lord Hector," she mumbled, teasing a snag in her white dress as she fought back tears.

Hector nodded. "Even if it was just to help, people will think that I actually endorsed their actions. And—should word of that ever reach Caelin—" He pounded the tankard on the table, his eyes narrowing. "—Then I'll never hear the end of it."

Oswin looked at Serra, hoping for just a glance from her green-gray eyes, something that said that she suffered with him, that they were one on something; but she only fixed her eyes on her dress, brushing away a speck of dust that wasn't even there.

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

Getting in had been far too easy…but then again, the Feliad's standards tended to be higher than most of her companions.

Taking a pebble from the earthen ground beneath her, she murmured in song the name of levitation, letting go of the pebble; it floated there, on its own, as if awaiting a command. Aeristos…the Mage's Hand. Not her most famed spell, but soon she would be able to lift heavier rocks.

And all she needed right now was a close call….

"Shuri aenan en huishe." Fly straight as an arrow, she murmured in Arcadian. (A/N: This is actually a language I made up. I'll provide translations, but if interest is up, I'll start posting the essays and stuff for this on my Fictionpress account.)

And with a flick of the wrist, she sent her small projectile flying through the air, just past the man's ear and into the wall…..

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

"WHAT THE HE—!" Hector's outraged cry could be heard well outside the tavern, and several people turned their head to the Lackey's Den to see what the commotion was.

All except one girl, who leaned against the wall, focusing intently on her whittling. Her sharp blue eyes merely blinked; she paused, then went back to what she was doing.

"Sounds like 'ol Amle did her job…again…."

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

People began to gather around the startled lord. There's the ticket, she thought

"Time to go." Without a word, Bethany grabbed the two by the hand and started dragging them to the end of the pub.

"B-But Lord Hector—"

"My money!!!!"

Bethany shushed them, putting a finger to her lips. "Hector's fine," she reassured Matthew before glaring at Guy. "And no, we're leaving the money. We won't need it."

"But I w—"

"Shut up, Guy!!"

"Thank you, Matthew."

"Don' mention it…."

They rounded the counter. "Get down!!!!" Bethany hissed, pulling the two men down behind the counter. "Crouch low, walk softly and don't say a word."

"I'm quite all right!!!!—What the—! MATTHEW AND GUY ARE GONE!!!!!"

"But they left the money…."

"It doesn't matter!!!" Hector's voice was crazed, beserk now. "Find them and bring them to me!!! They can'tve gone far!!!!" It made Bethany cringe. In battle, the cry had been energizing, almost funny….

Now…it sounded wrong….

But it served it's purpose; it filled the tactician with a new resolve. "Come on," she said, grabbing the two. "Let's get out of here."

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

Ithilia didn't even look up as the Feliad ran up to her, breathless, along with the other three. "You're thirty seconds late," she said, blowing the dust off the tip of the now-completed arrow. "Not as punctual as I'd hoped."

"_Na'en Dymyrr…."_ (Daughter of Satan….)

"We're sorry, 'Kay?!?!"

"Hey, isn't that Uther's daughter—?"

Ithilia looked up. "The Lady Ithilia at your service," she said, giving him a mischievous grin. "Now come. We must go before you are discovered." Taking Bethany's hand, she guided her along the side of the Lackey's Den and into a quiet and abandoned alleyway. "The guards never come here," she reassured the tactician as they rounded the corner.

Behind her, there were snatches of conversation.

"That's Uther's daughter? Damn she's sexy…."

A whack on the head and a muffled yelp. "_Daematen en mae dasen." _(Literally, "Your foolishness no longer." Translated, it would be, "Stop your foolishness.")

"What did she say, Matthew?"

"No idea…."

A hiss from Amlekaraku, and they were silent.

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

"Well now…."

She hadn't expected much resistance from the group at all. Maybe some minor setbacks, a run-in, but then she could've invoked her blessing to protect them. She only wanted them to make it to Uther's keep. Then they would be worthy in her eyes.

Now, as they neared the castle without a single run-in, she knew they weren't only worthy, but the only ones who could possibly pull this off….

"M…Milady."

She turned around to face her servants; one, an Elf like her, with a sharply angled face, fierce blue eyes, and long golden hair that reached her waist. "Ah, Evanflaed, Sylph. Just on time, as I expected."

"What else could I have done, Milady Lina?"

The Elf smiled. "My, Evanflaed, always the loyal one. Heh…you make me laugh." She turned to the portal. "But now is not the time for laughter, most unfortunately."

"Shall I go now then, Milady?"

"….." Lina was silent, contemplating for just a moment.

"…yes. Now is as good a time as any. You know the mount you must climb?"

"Aiyuh."

"…Go, then."

She heard a cryptic muttering behind her, the sound of time and space fabric being ripped open…and then silence, and the half-Elf knew that Evanflaed was gone.

The second servant stepped up to her shyly. Younger, she was a smaller, more frail child, with a lithe figure, emerald eyes, and long red hair. "Mi—Milady Lina…would you have me go with her?"

Lina looked into those sad green eyes for a moment. She thought of how the child looked so much like her father, and of how those sad green eyes took her back to a time before the Scouring….

" Nae, child." A graceful white hand took the child's shoulder, pulling the Cleric against her hip. "No. Watch the portal, child, and instead I will tell you a story…."

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

Ilia was best known for the knights it bore, brave riders on Pegasi who would risk their life and limb for their cause. The Pegasi warriors and the Falcoknights; but even they were susceptible to the biting cold, the numbing freezing of joints and the cruel, frostbitten winds, bitter with snow….

No matter. Sleet, hail, snow, rain…it bothered the Elf child not.

Standing on the highest peak of Ilia, Evanflaed was certain she was a spectacle to any in the area, standing there in nothing but a cashmere tunic and a green cloak, with a leather jerkin and wyrven-hide boots. Not Ilia clothing.

It didn't matter; the sun neared her area, peeked at her face as it broke through the clouds below. It was the hour.

Now was the time….

"I looked to where I've walked before," she began, murmuring the beginning of the spell. "And I have seen what Fate has in store…."

The sun began to shin on her fully; the winds picked up, swirled around her as she removed prayer beads from a leather case at her side. They made musical clinking sounds as she brought them above her head, twirling them, murmuring musically the incantation.

"'Tis not my place but yours to mend…the rift time's made for you to rend…."

The air around her became almost still. The winds were gathered. Now the body of the spell.

"_No'en Ostia, Kyrier en Aermal." _ Lord of Ostia, Armads-wielder. A wind rushed past her, and off into the southeast, sparkling a little.

"_Na'en Verat, Kyrier en Mane Katte." _Maiden of the Plains, Mani-Katti wielder. The spell rushed past her, to the southwest, glittering green and carrying the smell of the plains with it.

Evanflaed turned around, putting all her magic into this last calling. He would need it…if he did not hear it, his heart must…it was imperative to the plan.

She closed her eyes, feeling nausea settle around her. Sensually, tenderly, she murmured the last of the summons….

__

No'enPharae…Kyrier…e-en…Duran…dal……."

The last wind rushed past, pushing her into the snows. She did not think, and she gratefully let sleep devour her.

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

Aesch raised his head as a gentle breeze blew past. It sang in his ear.

It didn't speak…but, somehow…he understood.

He turned his blue eyes turned to a big mountain on the horizon, as though searching for an answer to something long gone.

Unsatisfied with what he found, he went back to sharpening his knife.

();;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

Hector: Where's Eli-sama?

HL: I ATE HIM!!!!!!!

Hector: Oo

HL:….yeah, bad chappie I know. Please review anyway!!!!


End file.
